{"product_id":"the-silk-road-9780190208929","title":"The Silk Road","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The Silk Road was already the best introduction to the reality behind this commonly used phrase. With the new documents, this version gives an even more vivid picture of how the 'Silk Road' actually functioned. It is perfect for classroom use.\"--Christopher P. Atwood, University of Pennsylvania \"In 2013 the International Convention of Asia Scholars recognized The Silk Road: A New History as the best new book about Asia for teaching the humanities. That is no small praise, and I could not readily agree more. Indeed, for anyone who teaches the Silk Road--or Asian or world history--this updated version that includes a remarkable array of original sources is an absolute boon. Not only because it is beautifully written and cogently offers up a magisterial overview of Inner Asian history up through the Mongol  conquest, but also, more importantly, because it weaves into its narrative the excitement of discovery that lies at the heart of the humanities.\"--Johan Elverskog, Southern Methodist University \"The Silk Road is a remarkable achievement, especially considering the extreme complexity of the subject matter. This useful and timely text provides teachers and students of Chinese, Asian, and world history a much-needed collection of primary sources on the Silk Road in the first millennium and beyond. The selected prayers, contracts, personal correspondence, and graffiti tell extremely vivid, personal, factual stories and promise to generate stimulating class discussion. Instructors and students alike will benefit greatly from Hansen's informative introductions and carefully selected maps and images.\"--Cong Ellen Zhang, University of Virginia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments Introduction  Documents  1. A Walk through the Taklamakan, Charles Blackmore, 1995 2. A Caravan in 1895, Sven Hedin, 1925 3. The Han Emperor Speaks with the Explorer Zhang Qian, Ban Gu, 111 BCE 4a-b. Documents About Sogdian Envoys from the Xuanquan Fort, 52, 39 BCE 5. The Kingdom of Da Qin, Fan Ye, 445 CE 6. Greek Description of the Lands East of India, Periplus, First Century CE 7. Pliny the Elder on the Country of Seres and the Silkworm, circa 77 CE  Chapter 1. At the Crossroads of Central Asia: The Kingdom of Kroraina  Documents 8. The Niya Site in 1901, Aurel Stein,1907  9. The Niya Site in 1993, Charles Blackmore,1995 10. The Kroraina and Jingjue Kingdoms, Ban Gu, 111  11a-h. Local Life in a Silk Road Community as seen in the Kharoshti, Documents, circa 250-350   Chapter 2. Gateway to the Languages of the Silk Road: Kucha and the Kizil Caves  Documents 12. Sven Hedin's Account of his 1899 Boat Trip, 1925 13. How the Germans Removed Paintings, Albert von le Coq, 1928 14. The Jataka Tale of How the Monkey King Saved His Band, Fifth Century CE 15. The Punyavan Jataka Tale, Fifth-Sixth Centuries CE  16. The Invasion of Kucha by General Lü Guang, Li Fang, 984 17. The Biography of Kumarajiva, Fang Xueling, 644  Chapter 3. Midway Between China and Iran: Turfan  Documents 18. Xuanzang's Journey out of China, Huili, 649 19. The Astana Graveyard in 1915, Aurel Stein,1928 20a-c. The Real World Legal System in the Turfan Documents 21a-c.The Underworld Court System in the Turfan Documents 22a-d.The Tang Code, Zhangsun Wuji, 653    Chapter 4. Homeland of the Sogdians, the Silk Road Traders: Samarkand and Sogdiana  Documents 23a-c. The Sogdian Ancient Letters, Nicholas Sims-Williams (trans.), ca. 310 24.The Mount Mugh Marriage Contract and the Bride's Script, 710 25. The Fall of Devashtich's Fortress at Mount Mugh, Al-Tabari, 923 26. Xuanzang's Description of Sogdian Ways, 646 27. The Kingdom of Sogdiana, Liu Xu, 945  Chapter 5. The Cosmopolitan Terminus of the Silk Road: Historic Chang'an, Modern-day Xi'an  Documents 28a-c. Epitaphs for the Two Sogdian Headmen An Jia and Shi Wirkak, 579 29. Christianity in China: The Nestorian Stele of Xi'an, 781 30. A Record Book of Accounts from a Tang-Dynasty Pawn Shop, 662-689  31. The Lament of the Lady of Qin, A Poem about Chang'an in 881    Chapter 6. The Time Capsule of Silk Road History: The Dunhuang Caves  Documents 32. Aurel Stein's Negotiations at Dunhuang, 1912 33. A Hebrew Prayer preserved in the Library Cave, 800-1000 34. A Manichean Hymn from the Library Cave, 800-1000 35. A Christian Hymn from the Library Cave, 800-1000 36. The Zhang Yichao Transformation Text, after 857 37a-b. Women's Lives in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries  Chapter 7. Entryway into Xinjiang for Buddhism and Islam: Khotan  Documents 38. Xuanzang's Description of Khotan, Huili, 649 39. The Pilgrim-monk Faxian's Description of Khotan, 401 40. The Book of Zambasta, circa 500 41. A Khotanese Contract Governing the Use of Irrigation Water, circa 700  45. The Second Jewish-Persian Letter, circa 790 46. A Khotanese-Sanskrit Phrasebook, Tenth Century CE 47. A Khotanese Account of Expenditures, Tenth Century CE  Chapter 8. A New Route through the Grasslands: Beijing  Documents 48. Pope Innocent's Letters to the Mongols, 1245 49. The Mongol Khan's Reply to the Pope's Letters of 1245 50. John of Piano Carpini's Description of the Mongols, 1246 51. The Religious Debate at Möngke's Court, 1254 52. The Armenian King's Report about William of Rubruck, after 1259 53. Rabban Sauma's Account of France, circa 1300 54. Marco Polo's Account of Beijing, 1299 55. Marco Polo's Route South of Beijing, 1299   Conclusion: The History of the Overland Routes through Central Asia   Art Credits Index","brand":"Oxford University Press Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49524550566231,"sku":"9780190208929","price":53.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-silk-road-9780190208929","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}